Cold Storage
08.02.20 - 07.03.20
Solo show by Jure Kastelic
Opening Saturday 8th February 6-8pm
Artist’s Talk: Jure Kastelic in conversation with Jon Sharples from 5-6pm (video below)
Featuring new paintings and works on paper, the title of Jure Kastelic’s solo show, Cold Storage is a play on words that references the underground stone chamber of White Crypt, a formerly sacred space used for storing relics, whilst simultaneously alluding to the term’s use in relation to Bitcoin. In the world of cryptocurrency, 'cold storage' refers to an offline wallet where money is kept without needing a third party to access it. It is arguably the safest mode of storing cryptocurrencies and a method that resists theft by hackers and malware.
Kastelic’s works oscillate between the depiction of scenes of his personal life to discoveries from the artist’s research into the seductive aspects of technology and the unsexy side of money. Such discoveries include the self regulating ‘Flyball Governor’ mechanism, introduced with Watt’s 1788 steam engine and Robertson’s 1803 fictional hot air balloon 'La Minerve’, designed for scientific explorations around the globe.
Exploring his personal joys and ‘future memories’, Kastelic’s alluring palette and uncanny compositions invite the viewer on a trip down a rabbit hole into the background of existing subcultures of our digital and financial environments.
Artist’s book ‘An ode to hodling’ PDF
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Jure Kastelic (b.1992, Slovenia) works and lives in London. Between 2012-2014 Kastelic was the recipient of several art grants from the Slovenian Ministry of Culture, in 2017 he was nominated for the EMOP Arendt Award, and in 2019 he was selected by Zabludowicz Collection for the Testing Ground Masterclass. Kastelic’s work was included in numerous group exhibitions, including at Signal Gallery, New York (2013); Austin Center for Photograhy, Texas (2014); Musee National d'Histoire et d'Art MNHA, Luxembourg (2017) and the UGM Studio in Maribor, Slovenia (2019). Kastelic solo exhibitions include: Lepi Loopi / Pretty Loops at Bozidar Jakac Art Museum and at Photon Centre for Contemporary Photography, Slovenia (both 2016); Schumuck Insurance at The Chopping Block Gallery, London (2019); and New Alchemy at Niagara Falls Project, Brighton (2019). Kastelic’s work is included in the collection of the Musee National d'Histoire et d'Art, Luxembourg; Arendt Medernach collection, Luxembourg; Herbert Smith Freehills Collection, London; and private collections in London, New York, Ljubljana, Prague, Treviso. His work has been published in Le Monde, The Guardian, Fast Company and others.
images: Jure Kastelic